Pundits say there is never a good time to get married, buy a house or have a baby. I guess you could also argue that there is no perfect time to launch an auto finance program either – especially when the economy is still in recovery and auto sales are just starting to warm back up. But launching a new program is just what Santander Consumer USA did early this year when we opened up Santander Auto Finance™ – our new near-prime/lending program – to dealers nationwide.

The launch came on the heels of several months of testing and refining the program in different markets. Listed on DealerTrack and RouteOne as “Santander Auto,” the program offers you a new choice when you need non-prime financing. It features solid B-paper structures for your 575-680 FICO customers, with all the traditional elements you expect to see in non-prime lending: competitive rates, generous advances, participation and flats, room for back-end products on every deal, low down payment requirements, a standard 72-month term and 24-48 hour funding. To reap the full benefits of this program, our dealer partners need to send all their prime declines to Santander Auto. Dealers that did this during the test period experienced better calls or unique approvals 25 percent of the time. As one dealer said, “The program is another resource for me. I get good LTVs from a trustworthy company and sell cars I otherwise wouldn’t. I’ve gotten some really terrific approvals.” On top of that, there’s no look-to-book ratio with Santander Auto Finance, so it’s just a matter of remembering to send applications to Santander Auto in this space.

If you have tried the program a few times you probably got a middle-of-the-road payment call. If you will send us more applications (which you can do risk-free), you will see better payment calls and approvals on deals that other lenders will decline. When you include Santander Auto Finance with our other program offerings – Drive® in the sub-prime space and RoadLoans® in the direct lending/ lead-generation space – you have a full suite of special finance tools to help you sell more cars to more customers.

I encourage you to try Santander Auto Finance if you haven’t already. If you are currently signed up as a Drive dealer you can start sending applications right away. If you want to enroll in Santander Auto or any of our programs, visit SantanderConsumerUSA.com and request a sales rep visit. We’ll send a knowledgeable sales manager your way who can help you get up and running quickly. I also want to say a special thank you to all the dealers who helped us test the Santander Auto program in its early stages. Your feedback has helped us, and your dealer colleagues, immensely.